TWI487607B - Transfer apparatus and transfer method of a plate-shaped work piece - Google Patents

Description

Plate-shaped workpiece transfer device and transfer method

The present invention relates to a transfer device for a plate-shaped workpiece and a transfer method, for example, a method for transferring a liquid crystal display or a plasma display, or an organic electroluminescence (EL), field emission. A device for transferring a glass substrate for a flat panel display (FPD) such as a field emission display (FED) or a surface conduction electron-emitter display (SED), and a transfer method.

For such a transfer device, a general multi-degree-of-freedom robot arm such as a multi-axis vertical articulated robot or a multi-axis horizontal articulated robot has been previously applied. Since the glass plate is fragile, the handle work is difficult to handle, and it is extremely difficult for the operator to carry it for a large glass plate of 1000 mm or more and 1000 mm or more. Further, there is a tendency that since the glass plate for the above application is required to have a high cleanness, it is necessary to prevent dust from being generated by the operator during the operation. In this regard, in the case of the multi-degree-of-freedom robot arm, the degree of freedom with respect to the workpiece transfer posture is high, and thus the desired trajectory of the user (operator) can be set. Further, since the possibility of dust generation of organic matter or the like is also low, the multi-degree-of-freedom robot arm is preferably used for transfer of a glass plate as compared with an operator.

In particular, in the glass plate (glass substrate) used for the above-described applications, there are surfaces on which various display elements are mounted. Therefore, it is necessary to operate the surface of the glass substrate to be the mounting surface more carefully than the other surfaces. That is, it is preferable that the transfer of the glass substrate is performed as far as possible without touching the mounting surface.

Here, for example, Patent Document 1 listed below discloses a multi-joint robot in which a multi-joint robot is attached to a transmission device that constitutes a transfer device of a substrate on which a thin film is formed, and the multi-joint robot is attached to a substrate. At least one of a transport terminal or a side surface of the unit; and a swinging table rotatable about a vertical axis on the fixed table; and an arm base on which the arm base is mounted on the swing base On the seat, a head for adsorbing the surface of the substrate opposite to the film forming side (lower surface) is attached to the multi-joint arm. Further, the substrate sucked by the housing recess is transferred to the transfer position by rotating the turntable of the transfer machine, for example, by 90° about the vertical axis. Further, at the front end portion of the multi-joint arm, a head base of the adsorption head is rotatably coupled around the horizontal axis, and the adsorption head is held at the adsorption head by inverting the adsorption head in the horizontal posture by 180°. The substrate is inverted upside down.

Further, in the following Patent Document 2, as an inter-press transfer robot that transfers a workpiece on a press, an inter-press transfer robot is disclosed, which includes a translation base, a swing base, a first arm, a second arm, and a toggle portion. The translating base is disposed in parallel with a conveying direction of the workpiece, the swinging base translating the translation base, and the first arm is mounted on the swing base and is disposed in a vertical plane around the conveying direction The second arm is swingably attached to the tip end of the first arm with respect to the first arm, and the toggle is attached to the distal end of the second arm. Further, there is disclosed a case where two inter-press transfer robots are arranged face to face with a transfer path of the workpiece, and the two press transfer robots support the workpiece grip for holding and holding the workpiece by the support at both ends. By holding the handle, the two press-and-transfer robots operate in coordination, thereby transferring the workpiece between the presses.

[Previous Technical Literature] [Patent Literature]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-180822

[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-337918

However, recently, in order to realize the further popularization of flat panel display (FPD) products represented by liquid crystal displays, it is strongly required to further realize cost reduction by mass production, and therefore, in the art, The glass substrate transfer time is required to be further shortened.

Further, when the operating area of the robot arm becomes large, the installation area of the safety fence or the like must be set to be wide, and the increase in the footprint (the area occupied by the apparatus) cannot be avoided. Therefore, instead of expecting an improvement in work efficiency, it is likely to cause work efficiency or productivity. Moreover, since the equipment is often placed in a clean environment, the reduction in management costs required to maintain a clean environment is hindered. Therefore, regarding the footprint of the transfer device, further space saving is required.

In this regard, in the transmission device of Patent Document 1, the multi-joint arm that sucks and holds the substrate is swung around its vertical axis, and the substrate is transferred from the storage position to the transfer position, so that the transfer path becomes long. . Moreover, if the stopping operation at the transmission position is considered, the high-speed movement of the robot arm is also difficult to achieve. Therefore, as long as such a transfer path is employed, shortening of the transfer time will be difficult to achieve. Moreover, since the action space of the transfer machine (the robot arm) must be set to be wide, it is also disadvantageous in terms of the occupied area. Further, since the reverse rotation operation of the substrate is performed around an axis different from the above-described swirl transfer, a dedicated drive mechanism is required for each. Therefore, weight reduction as an entire arm will be difficult to achieve.

Further, in the transport apparatus of the above-described Patent Document 2, the two arms are disposed on the right and left sides of the workpiece, and the workpiece gripping handle for sucking and holding the workpiece is supported by the two arms at both ends to transport the workpiece. Therefore, it is necessary to synchronize the two arms, which may hinder the speeding up of the transport operation. Further, in the above-described conveying apparatus, the mechanism for performing the reverse operation in consideration of the back surface of the workpiece is not originally incorporated, so that it is difficult to directly apply it to the transfer device of the glass sheet.

Of course, the above-mentioned problems are not limited to the glass plate, and are also applicable to other plate-shaped workpieces, particularly for plate-shaped workpieces having a large flat surface.

In view of the above, in the present specification, the transfer time of the plate-like workpiece and the reduction of the space required for the transfer are achieved as technical problems to be solved by the present invention.

The solution to the above problems is achieved by the transfer device of the glass sheet of the present invention. That is, the transfer device is a device for acquiring a plate-like workpiece at an acquisition position of a plate-like workpiece and transferring the obtained plate-like workpiece to a mounting position thereof, the transfer device having a multi-joint robot The multi-joint robot holds the lower surface of the supply side of the plate-shaped workpiece supplied to the acquisition position, and places the upper surface opposite to the lower surface on the placement surface on the placement position, the multiple joints The robot is provided with a series of movable arms having a plurality of joints, and a holding portion for holding one surface of the plate-like workpiece is provided at a front end of the series of movable arms, and the transfer device of the plate-shaped workpiece is characterized in that the position and the loading are acquired. The position is arranged in the opposite direction, and the multi-joint robot is arranged on the side of the opposing space. The multi-joint robot moves the plate-shaped workpiece from the acquisition position through the opposing space to the mounting by a series of movable arm gyroscopic flexion and extension movements. In the operation up to the position, a part of the transfer operation is used to perform the reverse operation for placing the upper surface of the plate-shaped workpiece on the mounting surface.

In this manner, the multi-joint robot is disposed at a position deviated from the facing space of the plate-shaped workpiece and the opposing space of the mounting position, and the plate-shaped workpiece is transferred by the opposing space, thereby eliminating the need to wrap the workpiece around the robot The body moves around, or the position of the robot body does not need to be staggered when the workpiece is transferred. Therefore, the reduction of the transfer time can be achieved, and the area of the peripheral area which should be ensured when the plate-like workpiece is transferred can be made smaller than the previous one. Thereby, the occupied area (occupied area) of the transfer device can be reduced, the work efficiency can be improved, and the management cost required for maintaining the clean environment can be reduced. Further, since part of the above-described transfer operation also performs the reverse operation for placing the plate-shaped workpiece, the mechanism for performing the reverse rotation operation separately from the transfer operation is no longer required. Further, there is no need for a drive source (motor or the like) used only for the reverse operation, and only a drive motor for the transfer operation is required. According to the above, a series of movable arms can be made lighter, and the rigidity of the movable arm can be increased to increase the moving speed of the movable arm.

Here, the transfer operation of the plate-like workpiece can also be performed by a series of swinging and flexing movements of the movable arm about the horizontal axis. This is because the acquisition position and the placement position are arranged to face each other, and the transfer of the plate-shaped workpiece and the posture transition (reverse rotation) can be performed only by the rotational motion about the horizontal axis according to the above-described transfer form. By configuring in this manner, the substantial equipment footprint required for the transfer device can be minimized to further improve work efficiency.

Further, as long as the above configuration is employed, it is not necessary to use a multi-degree-of-freedom robot arm such as a general six-axis type, and for example, a multi-joint robot having joints of less than or equal to five axes that are horizontal and parallel to each other can be provided. It is preferable to have a multi-joint robot having three axes which are horizontal and parallel to each other. Further, as long as the number of links or joints (shafts) is reduced, it is not restricted by one joint having a slow moving speed, and the speed of movement of the entire series of movable arms is not limited. Further, by reducing the number of joints, the rigidity of the movable arm can be increased as compared with the prior art, so that the positional accuracy can be ensured and the plate-shaped workpiece can be transferred at a high speed.

On the other hand, the transfer operation may include, for example, an operation of causing the holding portion to be submerged under the plate-shaped workpiece supplied to the acquisition position to hold the lower surface of the plate-shaped workpiece, and then lifting the plate-like workpiece upward. When a series of movable arms are operated in this manner, the plate-like workpiece can be pressed from the lower surface side of the conveying side, and the transfer of the plate-shaped workpiece can be started. Therefore, even if the transfer speed is increased immediately after the start of the transfer, there is no possibility that the plate-like workpiece is detached (disengaged) from the holding portion.

Further, the transfer operation may include, for example, an operation of moving the plate-shaped workpiece to a position facing the mounting surface, and then maintaining the facing posture to move the plate-shaped workpiece toward the mounting surface. This is an effective mounting operation when the plate-shaped workpiece is stacked. According to this operation, even if the plate-shaped workpiece is continuously stacked on the mounting surface, and the position of the actual mounting surface is slightly deviated from the thickness direction of the load, the plate-shaped workpiece can be placed on the staggered position with high precision. On the plate-like workpiece. As long as it is a series of movable arms (multi-joint robots) having at least three axes, the mounting operation or the acquisition operation described above can be performed.

Further, regarding the transfer path of the workpiece, the transfer operation of the multi-joint robot to transfer the plate-shaped workpiece may be set such that the total output of the drive motor provided at each joint of the multi-joint robot is minimized. This is because the shape of the transfer is reversed, and the plate-shaped workpiece cannot be simply transferred from the acquisition position to the placement position. Moreover, it is also considered that the trajectory where the transfer path is the smallest will be different depending on what is used, even if it is assumed that the path length has been minimized, the actual action on the plate-like workpiece is not performed when the path setting is performed. The air resistance is taken into consideration, and the set transfer speed cannot be obtained due to the balance with the motor load capacity. For the above reasons, in the present invention, attention is paid to the output of the drive motor of each joint, and the operation in which the total sum of outputs is minimized is realized. Thereby, the plate-like workpiece can be transferred efficiently and in a short time. Further, if the transfer operation (path) is set with the motor output as a reference, it is not necessary to use a motor having such a large output. Therefore, it is possible to use a motor having a relatively small capacity, thereby realizing weight reduction of the entire arm, whereby a high-speed transfer operation conforming to the setting can be realized.

As a specific example of the above-described transfer operation, for example, a transfer operation including a motion of rotating a series of movable arms toward a lower surface of the top surface of the plate-like workpiece to reversely move the plate-shaped workpiece to the upper surface is exemplified. The operation up to the position facing the mounting surface; and the operation of maintaining the posture of the mounting surface and moving the plate-shaped workpiece linearly toward the mounting surface.

Alternatively, as another transfer path, the transfer operation of the multi-joint robot to transfer the plate-like workpiece may be set to minimize the sum of the kinetic energy lost by the plate-shaped workpiece due to the air resistance during the transfer operation. The setting of the other transfer path is particularly advantageous in that the air resistance against the plate-like workpiece is minimized, which is most advantageous for the transfer speed, and is based on the relationship between the air resistance and the path length of the plate-shaped workpiece during transfer. Set the optimal transfer path. Therefore, by setting the transfer operation (transfer path) as described above, the transfer speed of the plate-like workpiece can be maximized, and the time required for transfer can be shortened.

In addition, as a specific example of the above-described transfer operation, for example, a transfer operation including lifting the plate-shaped workpiece from the bottom end side thereof and causing the front end of the plate-shaped workpiece to face downward is erected; From the erect state, the plate-like workpiece is lowered by bending of a series of movable arms, and the plate-like workpiece is rotated about the bottom end side thereof, whereby the plate-shaped workpiece is reversed while sliding onto the mounting surface. action. Here, the "bottom end" refers to the end of one side of the plate-shaped workpiece that is close to the body of the series of movable arms, and the "front end" refers to the side of the plate-shaped workpiece that is away from the side of the series of movable arm bodies. Ends.

The multi-joint robot configured as described above may be disposed on the susceptor, and the multi-joint robot may be horizontally moved in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the sheet-like workpiece is transferred with respect to the susceptor. The plate-shaped workpiece that has been transferred to the placement position is placed in a state of being accurately positioned relative to the load-bearing surface. However, in particular, when it is a transfer operation that emphasizes the transfer speed, it is preferable to adopt the above configuration. Even if a slight deviation occurs in the stop position of the plate-like workpiece, the above-described deviation can be corrected by moving the articulated robot body in the horizontal direction, thereby placing the plate-like workpiece at an accurate position.

The transfer device of the plate-shaped workpiece described above can be provided, for example, in the form shown below. That is, a breading device for a plate-like workpiece may be provided, comprising: the above-described transfer device; a transport unit that transports the plate-like workpiece to the acquisition position; and one or more pallets for the bag, having a placement position, and for The plate-shaped workpiece is wrapped in a state in which the plate-like workpiece is stacked, and the same number of acquisition positions as the pallet for pallets are provided on the transport unit, and the side of the opposing space between each of the acquisition positions and the pallet for the package is provided. The multi-joint robot is disposed, and the plate-shaped workpiece conveyed to the acquisition position by the transport unit is selectively carried on the respective pallets by the transfer operation of the multi-joint robot. By using a plurality of transfer devices as described above, the transfer efficiency (the package efficiency) can be improved. Further, when different types of plate-like workpieces are transported by the same transport unit, each workpiece can be accurately and efficiently stacked.

On the other hand, the solution to the above problem can also be achieved by a method of transferring a plate-like workpiece obtained by acquiring a plate-like workpiece at a position where the plate-like workpiece is taken, and transferring the obtained plate-like workpiece to the load. In the method of placing the position, the multi-joint robot is used to hold the lower surface of the supply side of the plate-shaped workpiece supplied to the acquisition position, and the upper surface opposite to the lower surface is placed on the mounting surface of the placement position. The multi-joint robot includes a series of movable arms having a plurality of joints, and a holding portion for holding one surface of the plate-like workpiece is provided at a front end of the series of movable arms, and the transfer method of the plate-shaped workpiece is characterized by: obtaining a position The multi-joint robot is disposed on the side opposite to the placement position, and the multi-joint robot is disposed on the side of the opposing space, and the plate-shaped workpiece is passed from the acquisition position through the opposing space by the swinging and flexing movement of the series of movable arms of the multi-joint robot. Transfer to the placement position, and use a part of the transfer operation to perform the reverse of placing the upper surface of the plate-like workpiece on the placement surface Action.

[Effects of the Invention]

As described above, according to the transfer apparatus and the transfer method of the plate-like workpiece of the present invention, the transfer time of the plate-like workpiece and the reduction of the space required for the transfer can be achieved.

The above described features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a packaging apparatus 1 for a glass substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention. The packaging device 1 of the figure is for acquiring the glass substrate 3 for liquid crystal display conveyed to the acquisition position 4 by the transfer unit 2 using the transfer device 10, and continuously accumulating the obtained glass substrate 3 to the transport unit 2 The equipment on the pallet 5 is provided on the side of the bag, and the baggage apparatus 1 includes a plurality of transfer devices 10, a transport unit 2, and one for wrapping the glass substrate 3 in a state where the glass substrate 3 has been laminated. A plurality of pallets 5 for the bag.

Specifically, the transport unit 2 has a transport path 6 that can transport the glass substrate 3 in a horizontal posture. The transport path 6 includes an appropriate drive unit such as a roller conveyer. On the transport path 6, there are one or a plurality of acquisition positions 4 for acquiring the glass substrate 3 by the transfer device 10. At the acquisition position 4, a recessed portion 7 having a shape that allows the workpiece holding portion 23 of the articulated robot 11 to be described later to pass in the vertical direction is formed in a state in which the side of the transport unit 2 is open, and can be held by the workpiece from below. The portion 23 holds the glass substrate 3 in a state where the stop at the acquisition position 4 is acquired. Further, the alignment unit 8 is disposed on the transport path 6 at the acquisition position 4, and is arranged along the transport orthogonal direction of the glass substrate 3 stopped at the acquisition position 4.

The stacking tray 5 of the glass substrate 3 is disposed at a position facing the acquisition position 4 in the transport unit 2. To be precise, the arrangement position (the opposing interval or the direction thereof) of the bag 5 for the transfer unit 2 (the acquisition position 4) is set so that the left and right end faces of the glass substrate 3 at the position 4 and the bag 5 for the bag are obtained. The left and right end faces of the glass substrate 3 (at the mounting position) placed on the mounting surface 26 are parallel. The articulated robot 11 of the transfer device 10 is disposed on the side of the opposing space 9 formed between the acquisition position 4 and the placement position (the tray 5 for the bag). In the embodiment, the concave portion 7 (the acquisition position 4) is provided at a predetermined interval of the conveyance path 6, and the same number of the package trays 5 and the multi-joint robot 11 as the concave portion 7 are disposed.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the transfer device 10. As shown in the figure, the transfer device 10 includes a multi-joint robot 11 and is disposed on a grounded base 12. Here, the articulated robot 11 has a series of movable arms 13 and a control panel 14 (see FIG. 1) that controls the operations of the series of movable arms 13. The series of movable arms 13 have a so-called multi-joint robot arm structure, and the joint axes are arranged in parallel with each other and in the direction in which the transport unit 2 transports the glass substrate 3 in the transport direction. In other words, the configuration of the series of movable arms 13 or the installation posture of the articulated robot 11 with respect to the acquisition position 4 or the placement position (the tray 5 for the package) is set to maintain the glass substrate 3 held by the workpiece holding portion 23. The line is always orthogonal to any joint axis (joint axis).

Here, a series of movable arms 13 having a three-axis joint structure will be described in detail, and a first link 15 having a position closest to the susceptor 12 side is erected with respect to the susceptor 12, Further, one end of the second link 17 is coupled to the other end of the first link 15 via the first joint 16 . One end of the third link 19 is connected to the other end of the second link 17 via the second joint 18, and the other end of the third link 19 is connected to the workpiece holding portion 23 via the third joint 20. Toggle 21. A corresponding drive motor (only the drive motor 22 for the first joint 16 is shown) is integrally disposed in the vicinity of each of the joints 16, 18, and 20, and the drive motors are also connected to the respective links 15, 17, and 19 Together, a series of movable arms 13 are formed. Further, a speed reducer may be incorporated in each of the joints 16, 18, 20, or a motor with a speed reducer may be used as the above-described drive motor. Further, as the speed reducer used at this time, in order to further improve the rigidity of the movable arm, it is preferable to reduce the backlash (for example, a zero backlash precision reducer manufactured by Sankyo Co., Ltd.). RollefDrive (registered trademark), etc.). Moreover, each of the links 15, 17, 19 can independently rotate forward and backward about each of the joints 16, 18, 20, and does not cause interference between the links or the surrounding objects due to the angle of rotation.

The workpiece holding portion 23 has a shape that can pass through the concave portion 7 provided in the transport path 6 in the vertical direction. In the example of FIG. 2, a plurality of protrusions in a so-called fork shape are arranged in parallel. A plurality of suction pads 24 are disposed on one surface side of the workpiece holding portion 23, and the object attached to the adsorption pad 24 can be adsorbed and held by the decompression unit 25 such as a vacuum pump connected to the series of movable arms 13.

The bag tray 5 has a mounting surface 26 that is inclined at a predetermined angle (for example, 72°) in the illustrated example, and a plurality of glass substrates 3 can be stacked on the mounting surface 26. Here, although not shown in the drawings, a liner supply unit that supplies the liner 27 to the placement surface 26 at the time of stowage is disposed above the stacking tray 5 . In addition, when the glass substrate 3 is placed on the mounting surface 26 of the bag 5 by the articulated robot 11, the backing paper 27 is supplied to the mounting surface 26 (when one or more sheets are loaded) In the case of the glass substrate 3, the backing paper 27 is supplied to the lower surface 3a of the uppermost glass substrate 3, whereby a plurality of glass substrates 3 can be stacked on the mounting surface 26 via the backing paper 27. Further, in order to ensure the placement position accuracy of the glass substrate 3, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, an axis along the respective joints 16, 18, 20 may be provided between the susceptor 12 and the body of the series of movable arms 13. A sliding mechanism 28 that slides in the direction.

Hereinafter, an example of the transfer operation of the glass substrate 3 using the transfer device 10 having the above configuration will be mainly described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 7. In addition, the following transfer operation is an operation example in which the transfer operation of transferring the series of movable arms 13 to the glass substrate 3 is set such that each of the series of movable arms 13 is provided on the joints 16, 18, and 20 The sum of the output of the drive motor is minimized, in other words, the sum of the time products of the loads to the motors is minimized.

First, it is detected by an appropriate position sensor (not shown) that the glass substrate 3 transported on the transport path 6 by the transport unit 2 has reached the acquisition position 4 shown in FIG. The drive unit of the machine or the like is stopped. Thereby, the glass substrate 3 is stopped and placed on the acquisition position 4. Further, at this time, for example, the position of the glass substrate 3 in the left-right direction (the position on the virtual axis orthogonal to the conveyance direction) is adjusted by the appropriate alignment unit 8 provided at the acquisition position 4. At this stage, the workpiece holding portion 23 of the series of movable arms 13 is disposed directly under the glass substrate 3 placed on the acquisition position 4 as shown in FIG. Further, the second joint 18 is located below the first joint 16 or the third joint 20.

Next, at the position shown in FIG. 3, the lower surface 3a of the glass substrate 3 is sucked and held by the plurality of adsorption pads 24 provided on the workpiece holding portion 23, and from the state, the second joint 18 is centered. When the third link 19 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 3, as shown in FIG. 4, the glass substrate 3 is lifted up from the conveyance path 6, and the transfer of the glass substrate 3 is started. At this time, the toggle 21 is kept fixed to the third link 19, and the second link 17 is rotated in the clockwise direction with respect to the first link 15 in accordance with the turning operation of the third link 19. . Further, in the example of FIG. 4, the glass substrate 3 is adsorbed and held slightly upward, and a series of movable arms 13 are bent, whereby the glass substrate 3 is moved in parallel to the front (near the pallet 5 for the bag). The above-described turning motion is started from this state. The reason for this is to avoid interference with other objects in the acquisition position 4. Further, as described above, by rotating the third link 18 around the second joint 18 in a state below the articulated robot 11, the rotational movement distance of the glass substrate 3 can be reduced to reach a stowage suitable for later-described stowage. Position (position opposite the mounting surface 26).

When a series of movable arms 13 are rotated by the above, the glass substrate 3 held at the leading end (work holding portion 23) is transferred around the horizontal axis, and reaches the position shown in FIG. 5, that is, reaches the glass substrate. When the upper surface 3b of the mounting side of the 3 is opposed to the mounting surface 26 of the stacking tray 5, the transfer operation of the glass substrate 3 is changed as follows. In other words, while maintaining the posture of the upper surface 3b of the glass substrate 3 and the mounting surface 26, the series of movable arms 13 are continuously extended, and the glass substrate 3 is slid (linearly moved) toward the mounting surface 26. Thereby, the glass substrate 3 is downloaded and placed on the mounting surface 26 of the package tray 5 in an accurately positioned state. Further, at this time, the slide arm mechanism 28 shown in FIG. 2 can slightly move the series of movable arms 13 in the direction orthogonal to the transfer direction, thereby finely adjusting the placement position of the glass substrate 3. Further, in the state shown in Fig. 5, the liner 27 is supplied onto the lower surface 3a of the previously stacked glass substrate 3. However, if the liner 27 can be supplied between the stacked glass substrates 3 and 3, the supply is provided. Timing can be arbitrary.

When the transfer operation and the stowage operation of the glass substrate 3 are completed as described above, the workpiece holding portion 23 is moved below the acquisition position 4 in order to perform the transfer operation and the stowage operation of the glass substrate 3 again. Here, as shown in FIG. 6, first, the toggle 21 is rotated in the clockwise direction around the third joint 20, the workpiece holding portion 23 is continuously approached horizontally, and the third link 19 is centered on the second joint 18. Rotating in the clockwise direction causes the workpiece holding portion 23 to continuously approach the acquisition position 4. Next, when reaching the vicinity of the acquisition position 4, as shown in FIG. 7, the workpiece holding portion 23 is submerged under the glass substrate 3 placed on the acquisition position 4 so as to be disposed directly under the glass substrate 3, that is, disposed. In the position shown in Figure 3. Specifically, in a state where the series of movable arms 13 are bent, the third link 19 is rotated clockwise around the second joint 18, and the toggle 21 is wound counterclockwise around the third joint 20. The direction is rotated, the front end of the workpiece holding portion 23 is lowered and inclined, and the series of movable arms 13 are continuously extended from this state, whereby the above-described sneaking operation is performed. The series of operations of FIGS. 3 to 7 are repeated in this manner, whereby a plurality of glass substrates 3 are stacked on the mounting surface 26 of the bag 5 for the package.

Further, in this embodiment, the plurality of acquisition positions 4 are provided on the transport path 6, and the same number of the pack trays 5 and the multi-joint robot 11 are arranged in the same positional relationship as the acquisition positions 4. Therefore, during the transfer and ‧ stowage operation of the glass substrate 3 placed on one of the acquisition positions 4 by one multi-joint robot 11, the other multi-joint robot 11 can be used to transfer the ‧ stowage and be placed in the corresponding other acquisition In the glass substrate 3 of the position 4, the transfer and the stowage efficiency of the glass substrate 3 can be greatly improved. Needless to say, as long as the bag-type device 1 is used, even if different types of glass substrates 3 are transported on the same transport path 6, each of the transfer devices 10 corresponding to each of the glass substrates 3 can be realized. Transfer of glass substrate 3 ‧ stowage operation

In the above, an example (first operation example) of the transfer operation of the glass substrate 3 using the transfer device 10 of the present invention has been described. Of course, other transfer operations may be employed. Hereinafter, another example (second operation example) of the transfer operation using the transfer device 10 will be described. In the following operation example, a case where the glass substrate 3 conveyed to the acquisition position 4 in the horizontal state is transferred to the mounting table 29 having the mounting surface 26 of the same horizontal state will be described as an example. The transfer device 10 used is the same as the first operation example.

Here, the transfer operation is an operation example in which the transfer operation of transferring the series of movable arms 13 to the glass substrate 3 is set such that the total amount of the exercise energy lost by the glass substrate 3 due to the air resistance during the transfer operation is achieved. The smallest. This transfer operation is based on the viewpoint that the air resistance of the glass substrate 3 is minimized, which is most advantageous for the transfer speed, and the optimum transfer is set based on the relationship between the air resistance and the path length of the glass substrate 3 during transfer. path.

First, as in the first operation example, as shown in FIG. 8, the workpiece holding portion 23 is disposed directly under the glass substrate 3 placed on the acquisition position 4. At this time, the second joint 18 is located above the first joint 16 and the third joint 20. Next, at this position, the lower surface 3a of the glass substrate 3 is suction-held by the plurality of adsorption pads 24 provided on the workpiece holding portion 23, and as shown in FIG. 9, the glass substrate 3 is lifted slightly upward. When the glass substrate 3 is moved in parallel to the side of the mounting table 29, a substantial transfer operation is started. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, the second link 17 is rotated counterclockwise around the first joint 16 (and in the example of FIG. 10, the third link 19 is also rotated corresponding to the second link 17). Rotating in the counterclockwise direction, and further, as shown in FIG. 11, the toggle 21 is rotated clockwise around the third joint 20, and the glass substrate 3 is tilted on the one hand with its placement position side facing upward and On the one hand, it is constantly raised.

As described above, the glass substrate 3 is inclined on the one hand and moves toward the mounting table 29 on the one hand, and the glass substrate 3 is moved to a line in which the second link 17 and the third link 19 are arranged in a line as shown in FIG. A series of movable arms 13 are extended vertically upward. At the same time, in a state where the glass substrate 3 is erected and the series of movable arms 13 are extended vertically upward, the toggle 21 is rotated to be positioned such that the end portion of the front end side of the glass substrate 3 is erected downward.

Then, from this state, the toggle 21 is continuously rotated in the clockwise direction, and the second link 17 is rotated clockwise, and the third link 19 is rotated counterclockwise (see FIG. 12, respectively). By moving the series of movable arms 13 in a curved manner as described above, the glass substrate 3 is slowly lowered, and on the other hand, the third joint 20 is moved downward to lower the glass substrate 3.

Further, in the embodiment, in the lowering operation of the glass substrate 3, as shown in FIG. 13, the second link 17 that is rotated clockwise is reversed and rotated counterclockwise, thereby transferring the glass substrate 3. It is slid onto the mounting surface 26. In other words, the glass substrate 3 is moved closer to the horizontal position, and the end portion of the toggle 21 is lowered. The glass substrate 3 is transported from the acquisition position 4 to the placement position through the opposing space 9. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 14, the glass substrate 3 is transferred to the position facing the mounting surface 26 in the reverse state.

Then, from the position shown in FIG. 14 , that is, from the position where the glass substrate 3 is in a substantially horizontal posture and facing the mounting surface 26 , the upper surface 3 b of the mounting side of the glass substrate 3 is maintained ( FIG. 14 ). In the forward posture with the mounting surface 26, the glass substrate 3 is slid toward the mounting surface 26 (linearly moved). Thereby, the glass substrate 3 is downloaded and placed on the mounting surface 26 of the mounting table 29 in an accurately positioned state. In addition, in the state shown in FIG. 14, the backing paper 27 is supplied to the mounting surface 26 by an appropriate paper supply unit (not shown here).

When the transfer operation and the placement operation of the glass substrate 3 are completed in this manner, the workpiece holding portion 23 is moved downward toward the acquisition position 4 in order to perform the transfer operation and the placement operation of the glass substrate 3 again. Here, as shown in FIG. 15, first, both the second link 17 and the third link 19 are rotated in the clockwise direction, and are vertically erected substantially vertically, and the toggle 21 is rotated counterclockwise to keep the workpiece. The portion 23 approaches the upright posture from the horizontal posture. Then, the third link 19 is further rotated in the clockwise direction while maintaining the upright posture of the workpiece holding portion 23, and the toggle joint 21 is made of the third joint 20 from the time when the third joint 20 is positioned below the second joint 18. Rotate counterclockwise for the center. In the same manner as in the first operation example, the workpiece holding portion 23 is submerged under the glass substrate 3 placed at the acquisition position 4 from the position shown in FIG. 16 and disposed immediately below the glass substrate 3. By repeating the series of operations of FIGS. 8 to 16 in this manner, the transfer operation of the glass substrate 3 from the acquisition position 4 to the mounting table 29 (mounting surface 26) is repeatedly performed. Further, the glass substrate 3 does not have to be placed on the mounting surface 26, and for example, when the mounting table 29 constitutes a part of an appropriate transport unit, the glass substrate 3 can be transported one by one in the next operation step.

Although the transfer operation example in which the transfer device 10 transfers the glass substrate 3 has been described above, the present invention is of course not limited to the above-described operation example. As long as the acquisition position 4 is disposed opposite to the placement position, and the multi-joint robot 11 for transfer is disposed on the side of the opposing space 9 between the two, the multi-joint robot 11 is rotated by a series of movable arms 13 The glass substrate 3 is transferred from the acquisition position 4 to the placement position through the opposing space 9, and the upper surface 3b of the glass substrate 3 is placed on the placement surface by a part of the transfer operation. The reverse operation on 26, the configuration that can be employed by the transfer device 10 is arbitrary.

In the above description, the step of stacking the glass substrate 3 on the bag 5 is mainly described as an example. However, the transfer operation between the work steps or the transfer operation of the glass substrate 3 as a workpiece is performed. In the case of transfer to another transfer step, the present invention can also be applied to any step of the glass substrate 3 from the time of manufacture to the shipment, or the unloading step after shipment.

In the above description, the glass substrate 3 for liquid crystal display is exemplified as the workpiece to be transferred. However, the present invention is not limited to the liquid crystal display, and generally, a plasma display, an organic EL display, an FED, an SED or the like can be used. Various glass plates for flat panel displays (for example, glass plates having a plate thickness of 0.4 mm or more and 1.2 mm or less) or glass plates for forming substrates of various electronic display functional elements or films are used as transfer objects. Further, as long as it is a plate-shaped workpiece, the present invention can of course be used as a transfer target other than glass.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the invention, and any one of ordinary skill in the art can make some modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

1. . . Glass substrate equipment

2. . . Transport unit

3. . . glass substrate

3a. . . Lower surface (on the transport side)

3b. . . Upper surface (on the mounting side)

4. . . Get location

5. . . Satchel tray

6. . . Transport path

7. . . Concave

8. . . Alignment unit

9. . . Opposite space

10. . . Glass substrate transfer device

11. . . Multi-joint robot

12. . . Pedestal

13. . . a series of movable arms

14. . . control panel

15. . . First link

16. . . First joint

17. . . Second link

18. . . Second joint

19. . . Third link

20. . . Third joint

twenty one. . . Toggle

twenty two. . . Drive motor

twenty three. . . Workpiece holding unit

twenty four. . . Adsorption pad

25. . . Decompression unit

26. . . Mounting surface

27. . . Lining paper

28. . . Sliding mechanism

29. . . Mounting table

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a packaging apparatus for a glass substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the transfer apparatus of the present invention.

3 is a view for explaining a transfer operation of a first operation example of the glass substrate, and is a side view of the transfer device immediately before the transfer.

4 is a view for explaining a transfer operation of a first operation example of the glass substrate, and is a side view of the transfer device during the transfer operation.

5 is a view for explaining a transfer operation of a first operation example of the glass substrate, and is a side view of the transfer device during the transfer operation.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining a transfer operation of the first operation example of the glass substrate, and is a side view of the transfer device before shifting to the next transfer operation.

FIG. 7 is a view for explaining a transfer operation of a first operation example of the glass substrate, and is a side view of the transfer device before shifting to the next transfer operation.

8 is a view for explaining a transfer operation of a second operation example of the glass substrate, and is a side view of the transfer device immediately before the transfer.

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining a transfer operation of a second operation example of the glass substrate, and is a side view of the transfer device immediately after the transfer.

FIG. 10 is a view for explaining a transfer operation of a second operation example of the glass substrate, and is a side view of the transfer device during the transfer operation.

FIG. 11 is a view for explaining a transfer operation of a second operation example of the glass substrate, and is a side view of the transfer device during the transfer operation.

FIG. 12 is a view for explaining a transfer operation of a second operation example of the glass substrate, and is a side view of the transfer device during the transfer operation.

FIG. 13 is a view for explaining a transfer operation of a second operation example of the glass substrate, and is a side view of the transfer device during the transfer operation.

FIG. 14 is a view for explaining a transfer operation of a second operation example of the glass substrate, and is a side view of the transfer device during the transfer operation.

15 is a view for explaining a transfer operation of a second operation example of the glass substrate, and is a side view of the transfer device before shifting to the next transfer operation.

FIG. 16 is a view for explaining a transfer operation of a second operation example of the glass substrate, and is a side view of the transfer device before shifting to the next transfer operation.

2. . . Transport unit

3. . . glass substrate

3a. . . Lower surface (on the transport side)

3b. . . Upper surface (on the mounting side)

4. . . Get location

5. . . Satchel tray

10. . . Glass substrate transfer device

11. . . Multi-joint robot

12. . . Pedestal

13. . . a series of movable arms

15. . . First link

16. . . First joint

17. . . Second link

18. . . Second joint

19. . . Third link

20. . . Third joint

twenty one. . . Toggle

twenty two. . . Drive motor

twenty three. . . Workpiece holding unit

twenty four. . . Adsorption pad

25. . . Decompression unit

26. . . Mounting surface

27. . . Lining paper

28. . . Sliding mechanism

Claims (11)

A transfer device for a plate-shaped workpiece, which is a device for acquiring a plate-like workpiece at an acquisition position of a plate-like workpiece and transferring the obtained plate-like workpiece to a mounting position thereof, the transfer device having a multi-joint robot The multi-joint robot holds the lower surface of the supply side of the plate-shaped workpiece supplied to the acquisition position, and mounts the upper surface opposite to the lower surface on the placement position. The multi-joint robot includes a series of movable arms having a plurality of joints, and a holding portion for holding one surface of the plate-shaped workpiece is provided at a front end of the series of movable arms, and the transfer device of the plate-shaped workpiece is provided The above-described acquisition position is arranged to face the placement position, and the multi-joint robot is disposed on the side of the opposing space, and the multi-joint robot performs the above-described board by the swinging and flexing movement of the series of movable arms. The operation of transferring the workpiece from the acquisition position to the placement position through the opposing space, and using the transfer operation And partially performing a reverse operation for placing the upper surface of the plate-shaped workpiece on the mounting surface, wherein the transferring operation includes: causing the series of movable arms to face the above-mentioned plate-shaped workpiece Rotating in the direction of the lower surface to reversely move the plate-shaped workpiece to a position where the upper surface faces the mounting surface; and maintaining the posture facing the mounting surface to make the plate shape The movement of the workpiece linearly moving toward the placement surface. A plate-like workpiece transfer device for acquiring a plate-like workpiece at a position where a plate-like workpiece is taken, and transferring the obtained plate-like workpiece to a device for mounting the position, the transfer device including a multi-joint robot, and the multi-joint robot holds the lower surface of the supply side of the plate-shaped workpiece supplied to the acquisition position, and the lower surface is The upper surface of the opposite side is placed on the mounting surface of the mounting position, and the multi-joint robot is provided with a series of movable arms having a plurality of joints, and is provided at the front end of the series of movable arms for holding the plate-shaped workpiece The one-side holding portion of the plate-shaped workpiece transfer device is characterized in that the acquisition position and the placement position are opposed to each other, and the multi-joint robot is disposed on a side of the opposing space, the multi-joint robot The slewing and flexing movement of the series of movable arms is performed to move the plate-shaped workpiece from the acquisition position to the placement position through the opposing space, and is used for a part of the transfer operation a reverse operation of placing the upper surface of the plate-shaped workpiece on the mounting surface, wherein the transfer operation package : an operation of lifting the plate-like workpiece from a bottom end side thereof so that a front end of the plate-shaped workpiece faces downward; and the plate-shaped workpiece is bent by the series of movable arms from the upright state The plate-shaped workpiece is rotated about the bottom end side thereof, whereby the plate-shaped workpiece is reversed on the one hand and slides on the mounting surface on the one hand. The transfer device for a plate-shaped workpiece according to the above-mentioned item, wherein the transfer operation is performed by a swinging and flexing motion of the series of movable arms about a horizontal axis. For example, the plate-shaped workpiece described in claim 1 or 2 A transfer device, wherein the multi-joint robot has three axes that are horizontal and parallel to each other. The transfer device of the plate-shaped workpiece according to the first or second aspect of the invention, wherein the transfer operation includes: dung the lower portion of the plate-shaped workpiece supplied to the acquisition position to hold the plate-shaped workpiece The above lower surface is followed by an action of lifting the above-mentioned plate-like workpiece upward. The transfer device for a plate-shaped workpiece according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein the transfer operation of transferring the multi-joint robot to the plate-shaped workpiece is set such that a total output of a drive motor provided at each joint of the multi-joint robot becomes The smallest. The transfer device for a plate-shaped workpiece according to claim 2, wherein the transfer operation of transferring the multi-joint robot to the plate-shaped workpiece is set to be lost due to air resistance of the plate-shaped workpiece during the transfer operation The sum of the kinetic energy is minimized. The transfer device of the plate-shaped workpiece according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein the multi-joint robot is disposed on a base, and the multi-joint robot is orthogonal to the transfer direction of the plate-shaped workpiece with respect to the base The direction to move horizontally. A packaging apparatus for a plate-shaped workpiece, comprising: the transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 8; a transfer unit that transports the plate-shaped workpiece to the acquisition position; and one Or a plurality of pallets having a stacking position for carrying the sheet-like workpiece in a state where the sheet-like workpiece is laminated, The transfer unit is provided with the same number of the acquired positions as the stacking tray, and the multi-joint robot is disposed on the side of the opposing space between the respective acquisition positions and the stacking tray, and the above-described multi-joint robot is used. The transfer operation selectively stacks the plate-shaped workpiece conveyed to the acquisition position by the transfer unit to each of the package trays. A method for transferring a plate-shaped workpiece, which is a method of acquiring a plate-like workpiece at a position where a plate-like workpiece is taken, and transferring the obtained plate-like workpiece to a mounting position thereof, which is kept supplied by a multi-joint robot a lower surface on the supply side of the plate-shaped workpiece at the acquisition position, and an upper surface opposite to the lower surface is placed on the mounting surface of the mounting position, and the multi-joint robot is provided with a multi-joint a series of movable arms, and a holding portion for holding one surface of the plate-shaped workpiece is provided at a front end of the series of movable arms, and the method for transferring the plate-shaped workpiece is characterized in that the acquiring position and the mounting position are Arranging in opposite directions, and arranging the multi-joint robot on the side of the opposing space, and passing the plate-shaped workpiece from the above-mentioned acquisition position through the opposite-direction space by the gyroscopic flexing and stretching motion of the series of movable arms of the multi-joint robot And transferring to the placement position, and using the part of the transfer operation to perform the upper surface of the plate-shaped workpiece Is placed on the upper surface of the mounting surface of the reversing operation, wherein said transporting operation comprises: making the direction of the lower surface of the movable range of the plate from the top arm toward the workpiece and swing, so that the plate An operation of reversing the workpiece to a position facing the upper surface and the mounting surface; and maintaining a posture facing the mounting surface to linearly move the plate-shaped workpiece toward the mounting surface . A method for transferring a plate-shaped workpiece, which is a method of acquiring a plate-like workpiece at a position where a plate-like workpiece is taken, and transferring the obtained plate-like workpiece to a mounting position thereof, which is kept supplied by a multi-joint robot a lower surface on the supply side of the plate-shaped workpiece at the acquisition position, and an upper surface opposite to the lower surface is placed on the mounting surface of the mounting position, and the multi-joint robot is provided with a multi-joint a series of movable arms, and a holding portion for holding one surface of the plate-shaped workpiece is provided at a front end of the series of movable arms, and the method for transferring the plate-shaped workpiece is characterized in that the acquiring position and the mounting position are Arranging in opposite directions, and arranging the multi-joint robot on the side of the opposing space, and passing the plate-shaped workpiece from the above-mentioned acquisition position through the opposite-direction space by the gyroscopic flexing and stretching motion of the series of movable arms of the multi-joint robot And transferring to the placement position, and using the part of the transfer operation to perform the upper surface of the plate-shaped workpiece a reverse operation in which the upper surface is placed on the mounting surface, wherein the transfer operation includes an operation of lifting the plate-shaped workpiece from the bottom end side thereof so that the front end of the plate-shaped workpiece faces downward and stands upright; The plate-shaped workpiece is lowered by the bending of the series of movable arms from the upright state, and the plate-shaped workpiece is rotated about the bottom end side thereof, whereby the plate-shaped workpiece is reversed on the one hand and Aspect slips into the above The action of the mounting surface.